CONUS COLA

Validated May 2026

CONUS COLA (Continental United States Cost-of-Living Allowance) is a supplemental monthly allowance paid to service members stationed in high-cost CONUS duty locations where living costs exceed the national average by at least 5 percent. It is paid on top of BAH — both are received simultaneously — and unlike BAH, it is subject to federal income taxes.

Most CONUS duty stations pay $0. Only 18 Military Housing Areas (MHAs) qualify in FY2026. If your PDS is not on the list below, your entitlement is zero regardless of local cost of living.

2026 Qualifying Locations

Your monthly dollar amount = a base rate (by grade and years of service) × your MHA's COLA index. Use the DTMO CONUS COLA Rate Lookup to get your exact figure.

Illustrative amounts — E-5 / 4 years of service:

Eligibility

• Active-duty members assigned to a PDS inside a qualifying MHA are eligible (DoD FMR Vol. 7A, Ch. 67, §3.1.1).
• Ship and afloat staff are eligible based on the ship's home port, regardless of BAH eligibility (§3.1.2).
• OCONUS members in unaccompanied status are eligible at the with-dependent rate if their primary dependent resides in a qualifying CONUS MHA and no command-sponsored dependent lives OCONUS (§3.3).
• Reserve/Guard members must be on active duty for 140 or more days, or the duty must be in support of a contingency operation. Orders of 139 or fewer days that do not support a contingency operation produce no entitlement (§6.0).
• Dual military couples each receive CONUS COLA independently — one at the with-dependent rate, one at the without-dependent rate when sharing a residence (§3.1.1.3).
• CONUS COLA is not payable on PCS travel days. Entitlement begins on the date of arrival at the new PDS and ends the day before departure to the next PDS.

Dependent status

The with-dependent rate applies when BAH is authorized at the with-dependent rate, with two exceptions that produce the without-dependent rate:

1. Child support only. BAH at the with-dependent rate based solely on child-support payments (not physical custody) → CONUS COLA at the without-dependent rate (§4.1).
2. Active-duty spouse. A spouse who is also on active duty cannot serve as a dependent for CONUS COLA purposes.

A divorced or separated member not the primary custodial parent may still qualify for the with-dependent rate by maintaining physical custody of at least one child for 90 or more consecutive days (breaks of 5 or fewer days do not reset the count) (§4.2.1.2).

Pay Limits

What This Means for Your Pay

CONUS COLA is taxable — unlike BAH. BAH is excluded from federal gross income. CONUS COLA is not. It will appear as taxable pay on your LES and W-2, so the after-tax value is lower than the face amount.

Your rate follows your PDS, not your address. Commuting from a cheaper area outside the qualifying MHA to a duty station inside it still generates CONUS COLA at the PDS rate. The inverse applies too — living in an expensive neighborhood near a 0-index station pays nothing.

CONUS COLA continues through leave. The rate for your PDS continues uninterrupted on leave. There is no proration for time away from the duty station. (§3.1.1)

Dual-military households get two independent entitlements. Each spouse files separately — one at the with-dependent rate, one at the without-dependent rate. Filing only one claim forfeits the other.

OCONUS members can collect both COLAs simultaneously. Unaccompanied OCONUS members whose primary dependent lives in a qualifying CONUS MHA can receive OCONUS COLA (without-dependent rate) and CONUS COLA (with-dependent rate) at the same time — provided no command-sponsored dependent is OCONUS. (§3.3)

Visiting dependents don't change your rate for 90 days. A dependent visit up to 90 days does not alter the CONUS COLA rate. On the 91st day the rate switches to the PDS location rate; it reverts when the dependent leaves. (§4.3.2)

Common Mistakes

Assuming CONUS COLA is tax-free like BAH. BAH is excluded from gross income; CONUS COLA is not. This is the most common misread of this entitlement.

Including Hawaii or Alaska as CONUS locations. CONUS means the 48 contiguous states plus D.C. Hawaii and Alaska receive OCONUS COLA. No CONUS COLA entitlement exists for duty stations in either state.

Expecting entitlement at a non-qualifying duty station. Only the 18 MHAs above qualify in FY2026. A member assigned anywhere else in CONUS receives zero, regardless of perceived local cost of living.

RC/Guard members on short orders claiming CONUS COLA. The 140-day minimum is absolute unless the activation supports a designated contingency operation. A 90-day training rotation at a qualifying MHA pays nothing.

Dual military filing only one claim. Each service member has an independent entitlement. Filing only one claim forfeits the other payment each month.

Claiming with-dependent rate when BAH is based solely on child support. Child-support-only BAH → without-dependent CONUS COLA rate. Overpayments under the wrong rate are recouped. (§4.1)

Citation

Authority: 37 U.S.C. § 403b

Regulation: DoD FMR Volume 7A, Chapter 67 — Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) in the Continental United States (CONUS)

Source: DTMO CONUS COLA · DTMO 2026 MHA Locations

Rates verified against DoD FMR Vol. 7A Ch. 67 and DTMO FY2026 MHA list on 2026-05-19